Master the Boardroom: A Guide to Delivering Impactful Presentations to Executive Leadership

An opportunity to present to the Executive Leadership Team (ELT) is a great way to gain visibility as an emerging leader. When it's your first time, however, it can be stressful and nerve-wracking. This is why we offer immersive leadership programs where people learn in a safe setting, using simulated scenarios. You can practice and learn without risking your day job.  

Presenting to the Executive Leadership Team (ELT) is a great opportunity to get visibility as an emerging leader. But when it’s your first time it can be stressful and nerve wracking. That’s why we get people to do it in a safe way, in a simulated scenario, in our immersive leadership program. It’s a hands on way to learn and practise without risking your day job.  

 The best part of the experience is feedback. After participants presented they are given immediate feedback from the ELT on how it went. We often don’t get feedback on a specific situation immediately after and rarely on things like presentations or how we perform in a meeting.  

 Recently the feedback from the ELT was useful for any presentation or meeting and I’ve been using it every day since. Here is what they said: 

 Frame the conversation 

What do you want people to think about when hearing your presentation? Do you want endorsement for your proposal, resources, people, funding or something else and how much? A proposal asking for 10 people as resources will be different when asking for one.  

Provide pre reading 

Enable people with the details before the meeting so they can prepare and come in ready to listen to you.  

It’s not shark tank 

An ELT isn’t a shark tank with bags of cash. Avoid standing up the front of the room and talking at people, especially if you are a guest of the meeting. Ask people in advance what the set up of the room is and how the meeting is conducted so you can feel comfortable when you walk in to take your seat at the table. Have a conversation with people. 

 Don’t stick to the script 

It’s likely people will have questions along the way and will want to engage with you in a conversation. Have what you want to say and the intention of your communication in the back of your mind and be prepared to answer questions throughout. It’s your responsibility to stick to time so prepare to dance in the conversation and move it through the relevant points you need to cover.  

 Leave the unicorns and rainbows at the door 

No solution or idea is perfect and if we only share the great stuff, i.e. the unicorns and rainbows, it seems to good to be true and sows seeds of doubt. Share the good and the bad to people are fully informed and can weigh up the options. Providing the tops risks and the alternate solutions you have considered is a helpful way to share pros and cons.  

What does Jenny in accounts think? 

If you are in an organisation with other humans, it’s likely they will have something to say about what you are presenting. Make it easy for the ELT and get these perspectives before presenting. This will provide helpful context and demonstrate you have thought through your proposal.  

What do you think? 

Have you presented to your ELT, maybe you are on the ELT of your organisation. Would you give any other feedback or suggestions to people when presenting in this environment?

Thanks, 

Felicity